Lighting fires in damp conditions

[Bingobango]

Hi People,

bit new to the bushcraft game - plenty of camping done but wanting to get into some more 'back to basics' stuff.

Bought a firesteel as I fancied a go at this. Me and the boy out in the garden, bit of cotton wool and spirit and the driest bits we could find for some tinder.

Started fine, got some tinder going, very smokey ( damp) but could not keep it going. Read about using inner tube, but are there any other ways? And if you do get stuck out in the sticks, how do you get a fire going in damp conditions?
Looked through the posts and seen that quite often you have a very complete fire kit.

Any advice appreciated.

 

[bushcraftbob]

When i am camping in damp conditions i like to get quite thick logs and split them as you often find the wood on the inside is dry. Its amazing how much kindling a 4 inch diameter log can provide.

And i have a stuff sack full of birch bark it burns brilliantly!

 

[Harvestman]

I think the other trick is to actually practice firelighting in damp conditions (as you were doing) so that like everything, it gets easier with time. Keep at it.

 

[Dangerous Dan]

As Bushcraft Bob stated, split sticks and a small stash of birch bark helps. Fluff up the surface with a knife or stone and it will take a spark quite well.

While walking I tend to collect a pocket-full of fine twigs - fallen beech is quite good but anything of matchstick diameter will do. Body heat will help drive off some of the surface moisture and should give you a decent fire with a little effort.

Cotton wool is good initially but it's also worth practising with materials you collect from the wild.

Laying pieces of bark around a young fire to form a conical chimney can help trap heat inside and dry out the wetter stuff.

 

[Frogo]

I would agree with Bushcraftbob splitting logs to get at the dry wood, also I would have the fire larger than you need to drive off the moisture, also place your logs around the fire to dry them.

 

[Bingobango]

Thanks. Some good tips all.

 

[Sleepy Weasel]

Pick dead wood from trees, don't use the stuff lying on the ground, a good handfull of matchstick thin stuff should catch and give you a good foundation to feed with small twigs until you get a good blaze going.

What I've found is that you have to watch it like a hawk until you get a good base of embers to keep the fire going. In damp conditions I find that the fire has to be bigger than usual to keep it going too

Hope this helps

 

[ex member coconino]

Also, don't panic. Spend time first getting everything you'll need ready at hand, in other words, don't rush to get your kindling going only to suddenly have to go looking for more. It can be quite difficult, in the cold and wet, to remember that that you're not working against the clock, and it's better (and quicker) to go slowly and methodically. Make enough kindling so you don't have to blow it all in one go, and then—when the fire's going and you're on the outside of a brew—get making more kindling by firelight and put it somewhere dry.

 

[ArkAngel]

Sound advise so far, don't forget to keep the fire off the wet/damp ground by a putting some twigs/sticks under the fire. This also allows air to pulled in through the bottom of the fire aiding combustion

 

[BarryG]

If everything's damp, I tend to split larger logs to access the dry internal wood. I then create feather sticks using the inside surfaces to make plenty of kindling.
If there is a trick to lighting in damp conditions, its having plenty of tinder and kindling to start with. Put the effort in at the outset, by collecting as much dry tinder, kindling and fuel as possible, before igniting.
I tend to carry with me some rubber from an old tyre inner tube and/or maya sticks. Always seems to work out for me.

 

[Whittler Kev]

Same again as RM said when he was filming in Scotland. Inner wood is always dry so split bigger logs to get at it. The Queen could have had her cup of tea . Collect your wood BEFORE starting the fire so it's close to hand, and get twice as much as you think you will need

 

[Sniper]

Collecting tinder as you walk and keeping it inside near a warm part of the body will help to dry off the initial tinder and small twigs ( you could carry an old tea towel to wrap it in to aid the drying process) but has already been said you will need much more than you think in order to keep the initial fire going long enough for it to dry out the bigger material before it will burn well. Also remember if you are stacking wood for your fire, put a covering over it and stack it in such a way as it is off the ground, I'm thinking here of a longer term camp (couple of days). Practice and experience has no match (pun intended) for the initial lighting techniques so you are doing the right thing in the back garden.

 

[Bingobango]

Cheers all. Another crack at it later in the week.
I figure if I can master it in damp conditions then it'll be a doddle when dry.

 

[lannyman8]

tinny birch twigs is what i use, 2 bunches about 6" round to make an "L" shape, put it on thicker twigs/sticks for the bace, it keep the cold and damp away from the centre of the fire....

use brich bark or cotton wool as the tinder in the gap beneath the "L" shape, have plenty spare and to hand if you need it, its there ready to go... use about a tennise size ball to start with, this should do to get the twigs going, the twigs are full of oil as is the birch bark, lay some pencil size bits on top of the fine twigs and have more ready to go, that goes for all the stages of wood/tinder sizes....

once it starts to get going get some more larger sticks on, if they are wet as said before split them first, you can turn them into feather sticks if no birch twigs are in your area.....

summer is easy as, just use some grass thats brown/dead, few sparks from the ferro rod and its lit....

if you need any more help just pm me dude..

regards...

chris.

 

[Cobweb]

+1 to everything already said... remember your triangles, I find a teepee style fire the best to get damp stuff going, and don't forget to push in the burning twigs from the edges, the ends will be dry

 

[mrcharly]

Keep a lookout for dead wood hanging in trees - this is often dry.

when you get pencil-thick twigs, split them down to matchstick thickness.

 

[Nonsuch]

Squirt of paraffin?

In Guy Grieve's Call of the Wild, he says that locals in Alaska carry sealed bottles or jars filled with petrol soaked rags, for lighting an emergency fire if they have fallen in cold water or are caught in a blizzard.

I don't think we should be too purist when it's wet, but if I were being purist, then wood split down small until it's dry and made into good quality feather sticks will do the trick.

NS

 

[ArkAngel]

Squirt of paraffin?

In Guy Grieve's Call of the Wild, he says that locals in Alaska carry sealed bottles or jars filled with petrol soaked rags, for lighting an emergency fire if they have fallen in cold water or are caught in a blizzard.

I don't think we should be too purist when it's wet, but if I were being purist, then wood split down small until it's dry and made into good quality feather sticks will do the trick.

NS

I think it's a good idea to practise with no "artificial" help.

I normally have 3-4 different ways of making fire on me (Matches/lighter/firesteel/candle etc) and normally would use one of them and some rubber inner tube if things were damp/wet.

Still a handy idea to know how to do it assuming (although in this country highly improbable) everything goes pear shaped and you find yourself short of your normally used gear.

 

[Bingobango]

Don't really want to be purist about it. But want to know I can do it. Then perhaps onto bowdrill or whatever. Once mastered I'll probably end up using the modern conveniences to get a fire going.

 

[ex member coconino]

I think it's a good idea to practise with no "artificial" help.

I normally have 3-4 different ways of making fire on me (Matches/lighter/firesteel/candle etc) and normally would use one of them and some rubber inner tube if things were damp/wet.

Still a handy idea to know how to do it assuming (although in this country highly improbable) everything goes pear shaped and you find yourself short of your normally used gear.

All good ways of starting a fire, but in my experience the biggest problem with wet conditions is growing a fire in its early stages so that it builds enough of a heart to sustain itself, which means kindling, kindling and more kindling, which in turn means taking the time to gather and prepare kindling before putting steel to flint. Half an hour calmly preparing kindling and then lighting a fire in one go is better than half an hour of failed attempts to light a fire, wasting tinder and getting stressed and frustrated (BTDTGTFTS). Yes, you can chuck your meths on some sticks but then that's stuffed your brew kit for tomorrow's wander.